Shane O'Neill - Feuding Within The O'Neill Lordship

Feuding Within The O'Neill Lordship

The English, since the late 1530s, had been expanding their control over Ireland, this century long effort is known as the Tudor conquest of Ireland. To incorporate the native Irish Lordships, they granted English titles to Irish Lords - thus making Conn Bacach O'Neill, Shane's father, the first Earl of Tyrone. However, whereas in Gaelic custom, the successor to a chiefship was elected from his kinsmen, the English insisted on succession by the first born son or primogeniture. This created a conflict between Shane, who wanted to be Chief and the Earl's elder but illegitimate son, Matthew or Fear Dorcha O'Neill (the Earl's eldest son Phelim Caoch O'Neill was killed on a raid in 1542).

Shane's mother Lady Alice Fitzgerald, Tyrone's first wife, was the daughter of Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, and his stepmother was the daughter of Hugh Boy O'Neill of Clanaboy. She died shortly afterwards and Shane was fostered by the Donnelly family, who raised him until his early teenage years. Conn O'Neill's illegitimate son Matthew was chosen to be raised at the English court and declared heir to Conn over Shane. On his father's death, Matthew would become Baron of Dungannon. However, he was murdered by Shane before their father died, and the title thus passed to Brian, Matthew's son, who was then also murdered by Shane. In 1562, the title passed to Matthew's youngest son Hugh O'Neill who had been taken to safety in the Pale by Sir Henry Sidney in 1559, stayed at the English court and was protected there while Shane established his supremacy in Ulster.

Having eliminated his rivals, Shane had himself elected The O'Neill. While in English law this was an illegal usurpation, according to Gaelic Irish custom, Shane had just as good a claim to be The O'Neill as any of his rivals.